Olivas Links G.C.-06/04/2020: Hooray!! Our intrepid Thursday Golf Group was back in action

Mr. Knickerbocker

a full week ahead of the PGA Tour!! A cadre of 15 dedicated divot-diggers challenged this demanding links layout, which BTW was in superb condition overall. Even though the usual Wager Pots were still on hold due to "Social Distancing" it was reported that there was some very active individual wagering. The scores posted were recorded in our Official Scoring Competition for the new 2020-2021 Season. As for the Category Winners, Brian Oblak claimed the Super Low Gross with a 78 and also had the day's Low Putts with 30. Jim Sabbe was the Super Gross runner-up. The Porter Low Gross went to Bob Stone along with a tie for 2nd Low Net. Runner-up in Porter Gross was Tom Knickerbocker who also took 2nd in Low Putts. The day's Low Net score, an 8-under-par 64, was fashioned by Bill "Move 'em back" Lewis, with Bruce Simon and Mr. Stone tied for the runner-up spot. The other 9 competitors joined in celebrating our long-awaited return to the links.
Victoria Lakes G.C. - 06/11/2020: Due to the ongoing ban on groups assembling our highly anticipated Weekly Wagering remains on hiatus, however the category winners and placers are still being recorded. This week the Lakes course yielded some decent scoring led by Tom Knickerbocker capturing the Porter Low Gross to which he added a tie for 2nd Place in Low Putts. Super Low Gross was not contested as none of the Back Tee Bombers were present. Miquel Romero and Bob Stone tied for the runner-up spot in Porter Gross with Miquel adding a Partners 2nd Place. In the Low Net competition Marilou Miller was the winner with Ted Winship in 2nd Place and Val Mayer in the #3 spot along with a Partners 2nd. Marilou also placed 2nd in Low Putts and 3rd in Partners while Ted grabbed FIRSTS in both Putts & Partners. Bruce Simon and Ted Winship captured the winning Partners pairing and in doing so each achieved the rare Double/Double milestone of birdying both designated birdie holes. But alas, sans any bets, only received some 'attaboys' for their accomplishment! Bob Planck joined Marilou on the 3rd Place Partners team. Also of note, actor person Jeff Sable posted his 5th and final qualifying round to become eligible for Thursday Golf Group membership with an initial 14.6 Handicap Index.
Westlake G.C. - 06/18/2020: Burman is back! He of the Deshautelle clan fired a One-Over-Par 68 to claim the Super Low Gross by a couple of shots over Brian Oblak and Ron Troncatty who tied for 2nd. The Porter Low Gross winner was Tom Knickerbocker obviously aided by his 1st Place Low Putts total of 29 with 2nd Place going to John Moskoff. Sharing the runner-up spot in Porter Gross were Val Mayer, Bruce Simon and Bob Stone. The Low Net category was dominated by Mike Belson's stunning 59 Net with Bill Lewis only one stroke behind. Tied for 3rd Net were Jim Jacobs and Bruce Simon. The Partners Low Net affair ended up in a 3-way First Place free-for-all featuring the team pairings of Brian & Mike, Bill & Val, and Bruce & Jim, all tied at 124 Net strokes. This enjoyable day welcomed a turn-out of 16 competitors and one guest player and the unexpected mid-round arrival of Gordon Crook who joined Group #1 for the Back Nine.
Los Robles Greens - 06/25/2020: Betting is back! Wagering whoopee! Tom Knickerbocker extracted top dollar of $59 from those long-awaited wager pots with TWO birdie payouts, a win in Porter Low Gross, and 3rd Places in both Low Net(tied) & Partners. The remaining birdie booty had John Moskoff's name on it as he also tied The Knick for Partners 3rd to pick up an even Fifty Bucks. Brian Oblak's $30 winnings came from 1st Places in Super Low Gross(a super 72),Low Net, and Partners(tied). The Low Net runner-up spot and a tie for Partners 1st Place paid out $14 to Ted Winship. Low Putts produced a tie at 30 pops apiece by Marilou Miller and Jim Sabbe worth $11 each. Bob Stone tied for 2nd in Porter Gross and for 1st in Partners to pocket $8. Gordon Crook joined the two Partners pairings that were tied for First Place paying out $6 per player. The Super Gross runner-up spot sent $4 to Ron Troncatty while a Partners 3rd earned $3 for Bruce Simon and our newest member, Jeff Sable, got Two Bucks for tying Mr. Stone as Porter Gross runner-up.

Bad timing to say the least, if Joe Cala waited but a couple of days before he had his first lifetime Hole-in-One

Mr. "Ace" Cala

and done it on a sanctioned Thursday, he could have been a rich man and cashed in on the long standing DPTGG hole in one pool of over $500. None-the-less, on June 12th in the year Twenty Twenty, at the Encino G.C. third hole, he knocked in a "majestic" 4 iron (or so the legend goes).... Hopefully the bar will be open the next time we see him. Congrats from all! -- We have two birthdays in July, Marcia Rodd on the 8th, and Cat Ballou on the 31st -- Ted & Zane Winship celebrate their 65th anniversary on July 2 totally punking the Belsons who could only muster 29 years, five days earlier. -- With our fingers crossed, no recurring shutdowns will be coming our way and the industry will be able to restart soon and offer us many more opportunities to fill this column with reports of work assignments!

The passing of former member, Selwyn Monarch, on Sunday, June 14th was reported by his dear friend

Mr. Monarch RIP

and member-on-sabbatical Peter Stanford who was checking in from his Sonoma, CA winery. Selwyn was a CPA and practicing attorney for over 60 years and in his leisure time an avid golfer and excellent skier known for his congenial manner and dry wit. His daughter, Michelle, writes that Selwyn was a devoted family man with 4 kiddoes and a slew of grandkids who "celebrated a loving marriage of 56 years to his wife/best friend, Elaine, who he adored." Selwyn's life will be celebrated at a later date. Donations in Selwyn's memory may be made to the Celiac Disease Foundation. The Thursday Group sends our sincere condolences to the entire Monarch family.

---

We are also saddened to report the June 15th passing at age 95 of long-time member, English actor

Mr. Neilson RIP

Richard Neilson. Richard would join us multiple times a year going back to 1988 by jetting in from his home in Connecticut. His final curtain call with The Thursday Group was on May 29, 2014 at Balboa G.C. Richard was born in London on Nov, 30, 1914 and by age 14 he was recognized as the British Table Tennis Champion which may account for a partially misspent youth with all that pinging and ponging. By 16 he was on stage in London acting in British Music Hall productions that led to a couple of film roles. In 1947 Richard moved to the U.S. appearing in a lengthy list of stage productions along with some feature film credits. As his official bio states "Richard's career tended more to stage productions, specifically on Broadway and off-Broadway, and especially the road productions of hit Broadway shows". He is survived by his spouse, stage actress Luce Ennis. -- Both Selwyn and Richard have now been enshrined in our Tribute to Absent Friends page among so many others who have gone before us!

As was noted last January, the Committee determined it to be in the best interests of the membership to adopt the newest SCGA scoring model using the Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) system beginning Jan 1, 2020. However some questions have been asked regarding the scorer's role in this. The answer is; nothing has changed! The scorer totals the gross and subtracts the handicap to determine the net score. The adjustments to gross are done by the Tournament Chairman using the Net Double Bogey Rules when entering the scores into our database where they are used to calculate each player's index. What's the difference between gross and net scores? Your gross score is the total number of strokes you took. Your net score is the total strokes subtracted by the number of handicap strokes you receive according to your Course Handicap. For example, if you shot 82 and have a Course Handicap of 12, your gross score would be 82 and your net score would be 70.